Attorney General Victor Cespedes, new on the job since 9 January, met last week with the director of prisons and security chiefs of 33 jails. He told the press that recent prison statistics show that of the 16, 664 inmates in Dominican jails, only 5,164 have actually been convicted by a court for their crimes. Victor Cespedes told the press that 11,500 people, or 83.5 percent of the prison population, are being held ?as a preventative measure?. Cespedes announced that in conjunction with the Army and the National Police new sweeps would be carried out in the prisons to reduce incidents of violence and drugs. Cespedes also said that he would meet with the head of the police narcotics division and the Minister of the Armed Forces as well as the Army Chief of Staff and the head of the National Police.
Meanwhile, Diario Libre reports that in less than seven months, convicted felon Maximo Florian Feliz has been linked to two cases of drug trafficking with the involvement of members of the military. In the most recent incident, the National Drug Control Department says that Florian is responsible for the operation that resulted in the confiscation of 56.3 kilos from several military officers in the border town of Duverge. Florian is also under investigation for his participation in the kidnapping and death of his relative, Victor Feliz Mendez, in a drug-related case. Florian is reportedly being detained a maximum-security cell at the Najayo Jail.